Category: Musings

76 years ago, according to this flyer, Royal Eagle was supposed to be running from Tower Pier to Clacton on Saturday 9th September 1950. However she was in fact laid up in Whitewall Creek on the River Medway. Why was that?: 9th September 1950: Royal Eagle – Kingswear Castle

66 Years ago Monarch’s last two days in service from Bournemouth were Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th September 1960. She sailed for layup in Weymouth on Friday 9th but was late getting away from Poole and so missed the tide to transit Weymouth’s Harbour bridge that day: 7th September 1960: Monarch – Kingswear Castle

63 years ago on a dull and blustery Sunday 8th September 1963 Medway Queen ran her last day in service on the route with which she had been most associated throughout her career from Strood to Southend and a double run from Southend to Herne Bay: 8th September 1963: Medway Queen – Kingswear Castle

89 years ago today, on Monday 6th September 1937, you could have sailed by paddle steamer between Chatham, Southend and Great Yarmouth or vice versa, changing boats at Clacton on the way. For more details: 6th September 1937: Essex Queen & Queen of Southend – Kingswear Castle

After the outbreak of war early in August 1914, the Government closed the Needles Channel, Spithead and Portland Harbour to shipping movements which restricted where Cosens could sail their paddle steamers. Avoiding these areas on Saturday 5th Sept 1914 they rostered Monarch and Majestic for a day trip and afternoon cruise from Bournemouth to Weymouth…
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On Saturday 3rd September 1949, P & A Campbell’s Ravenswood emerged with a much changed crew following a mass walk-out a couple of days earlier: 3rd September 1949: Ravenswood – Kingswear Castle

On 4th September 1953 you could have reached Lulworth Cove by sea for time ashore either by taking Empress from Weymouth or Embassy from Bournemouth and then transferred to Consul at Swanage: 4th September 1953: Consul, Embassy and Empress – Kingswear Castle

With war about to be declared, P & A Campbell summoned all three of its Sussex based paddle steamers Glen Gower, Brighton Queen and Waverley to return from Newhaven to the Bristol Channel on Saturday 2nd September 1939: 2nd September 1939: Sussex Coast – Kingswear Castle

Up to WW2 Victoria was the Cosens’ paddle steamer most usually scheduled for the run from Weymouth round Portland Bill to call at West Bay, Lyme Regis and Seaton. And that’s exactly what she was scheduled to do on Wednesday 1st September 1937: 1st September 1937: Victoria – Kingswear Castle

On Sunday 31st August 1958 Monarch, under the command of Capt Haines, was due to run a “Late Night New Orleans Jazz Cruise – The River Boat Shuffle with Gerry Brown’s Jazzmen and the Kapota “8” Skiffle Group with Pedro Harris and his Guitar” leaving Bournemouth Pier at 8pm and returning to Poole Quay at…
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On 30th August 1950 Bristol Queen left Cardiff at 9.15am for Ilfracombe but only got as far as Weston. Why was that? 30th August 1950: Bristol Queen – Kingswear Castle

Rebuilt and returned to service after WW2 in 1947 Bournemouth Queen ran for only ten more seasons before being withdrawn and scrapped. Her last trip was on Thursday 29th August from Southampton to Ryde: 29th August 1957: Bournemouth Queen – Kingswear Castle

The paddle steamer route between Bournemouth and Swanage was ever a hotspot for weekend sailors getting themselves into difficulties as the tide swept them out to sea from Studland. Here is one such occasion on Tuesday 28th August 1956: 28th August 1956: Monarch – Kingswear Castle

From their development in the 1880s onwards excursion paddle steamers enjoyed an enviable reputation for carrying their passengers safely. But bizarrely one date – 27th August – stands out for things going seriously wrong: 27th August 1886, 1928, 1934 & 1935: A Bizarre Day – Kingswear Castle

At 10.45am on Thursday August 26th 1937 we could have boarded the now red-funnelled PS Duke of Devonshire at Princess Pier Torquay for the 2 hour run along the Devon Coast to have the day ashore at Sidmouth: 26th August 1937: Duke of Devonshire – Kingswear Castle

On 25th August 1928 you could have boarded the veteran paddle steamer Royal Sovereign at Old Swan Pier, next to London Bridge, for a day trip to Southend, Margate and Ramsgate. She was then towards the end of her career with only one more season to go: 25th August 1928: Royal Sovereign & London Belle…
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People are different. They have different budgets, tastes and expectations. Paddle steamer operators have always had to cater for these varied market segments. Let’s take a couple of examples on the River Thames: From when she was built in 1909 right up until 1949 (apart from the war years) Golden Eagle was the GSN’s mass…
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If you had travelled to Torquay on 24th August 1960 for a trip to Exmouth and Sidmouth on PS Princess Elizabeth you would have been disappointed. To find out more: 24th August 1960: Princess Elizabeth – Kingswear Castle

You could have taken a trip from the East Coast Piers of the Isle of Wight to Bournemouth right up to 1966 although the time you spent afloat after 1956 was only one and a half hours each way. How did that work? Sandown, Shanklin & Ventnor to Bournemouth – Kingswear Castle

On Monday 22nd August 1955 there was a re-arrangement of which ship ran what Bristol Channel service after an accident involving Glen Usk at Newport the previous Friday. To find out more: 22nd August 1955: Britannia – Kingswear Castle

On Saturday 21st August 1965 PS Princess Elizabeth became a film star for a day as a Cross Channel packet boat in a movie starring Charlton Heston and Laurence Olivier: 21st August 1965: Princess Elizabeth – Kingswear Castle

On 20th August 1965 Princess Elizabeth ran a day trip from Weymouth to Yarmouth IOW. How did it go? Were they on time? And who were some of the people doing it? 20th August 1965: Princess Elizabeth – Kingswear Castle

On 19th August 1926 RMS Columba ran, as usual, on the Royal Route from Glasgow to Ardrishaig. She was a huge and luxuriously appointed paddle steamer loaded with high end amenities – you could even get your hair cut aboard:19th August 1926: Columba to Ardrishaig – Kingswear Castle

On Tuesday 18th August 1953 you could have boarded any one of four paddle steamers at Bournemouth Pier which offered fifteen departures including to Swanage, Totland Bay IOW, Southampton and Weymouth. This is what they did: 18th August 1953: Bournemouth – Kingswear Castle

On the afternoon of Sunday 17th August 1959, the 1911 built PS Embassy had a rendezvous at Portland with Nautilus, a US nuclear powered submarine from a different age and another world: 17th August 1958: Embassy – Kingswear Castle

Cosens not only offered paddle steamer trips to Lulworth Cove but also from it as well. If you had been there on 17th August 1937 you would have had 5 trip options to take you to Weymouth, Swanage or Bournemouth: 17th August 1937: Sailings from Lulworth Cove – Kingswear Castle

On 16th August 1958 Bristol Queen was scheduled to run from Bristol to Ilfracombe. But P & A Campbell were already in deep financial trouble. Would the receiver have to be called in? Would she come out again next year? 16th August 1958: Bristol Queen – Kingswear Castle

In the 1960s former Plymouth tender Sir Richard Grenville found a new life in the Channel Islands running a complex schedule including connecting Jersey and St Malo – previously run by British Railways. She had an old-fashioned feel to her even then: 15th-22nd August 1966: A Week in the Life of La Duchesse de Normandie…
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On Saturday 15th August 1959 Consul had an unusual roster to view a very unusual ship: 15th August 1959: Consul – Kingswear Castle

On 14th August 1939 Balmoral ran a long day trip from Southampton to Bournemouth taking in the piers at Ryde, Southsea, Sandown, Shanklin and Ventnor on the way. Then there was a round trip to Swanage before returning via the same route: 14th August 1939: Balmoral – Kingswear Castle